Thursday, March 31, 2011

I think it's important to talk about development. My two kiddo's are 2 months and 3 months apart from my two nephews.

Our kids got somewhat compared because they were close in age. This is so not right to do!

Every child develops differently. If your child is behind in many areas, then you should be concerned. But if they are excelling in one area, and behind in another that's ok. You can read more about this subject here. I think {especially with our first} we get hung up with developmental progress too much. At least I did.

I remember being really worried about the fact that our son Mica couldn't eat solid foods, jump, or throw a ball when our nephew Evan could. In fact Mica was quite a bit behind Evan in all things dealing with motor skills.

Mica was ahead of Evan when it came to talking. Evan stuttered, and it was harder to understand what he was saying.

Mica had a rough first start in life. He was born with a cyst under his tongue, making it hard to nurse and difficult to eat solid foods. He also cut teeth later then most. Then he had a funky crawl. He tucked one leg under his body {not using it at all}. He had a staph infection at 7 month, which could have cost him his life. All those things played a part in his development. He had a limp when he first started walking because of his awkward crawl. I was a nervous wreck. I kept thinking he'd have Autism or some odd disease because of the cyst he was born with, his limping walk and he had an eye lower set then the other. I had a right to be concerned. Even the doctors were concerned.

Fast forward: When Mica and Evan were in preschool, Mica would not get into art. Odd because my husband and I are both artists. Cutting was a major issue. His teachers were worried he had problems with the muscles in his hands. Evan was cutting out all kinds of things. Mica could build. He could put 100 piece puzzles together like it was no big deal. Mica knew his letters and colors when he was 3 {early}. Mica's whole preschool class went on to kindergarten; except for him. Mica has an August birthday. His needing to work on social skills and lack of being able to cut and draw set him in preschool for another year. I felt like I was doing something wrong; even though he was ahead in many areas.

Fast forward again: After Christmas something snapped. Mica went from only mixing paint to now cutting and drawing. He picks art at preschool all the time now. His drawings are so detailed that they look over his age level. He surprises me at least once a week with a drawing that I didn't think he could make.

What I think and have learned as a parent:I think some kids just get things at different times in their development. I think I was nuts for being so worried. But...I had a right to be worried. I'm proud of my five year old.

I've compared my almost 3 year old Isaak a lot less to my nephew Elijah that is 2 months older.

I feel like it's great to have a doll that mimics breastfeeding. I do not think it is necessary to have the halter top with flowered {nipples}. In fact, why not make more more dolls that have the sucking nature? Kids can play with the doll how they want to. If their parents want to buy them separate bottles to go with the doll, so be it. There are many women that pump and bottle feed. If the kid wants to mimic breastfeeding, so be it. Kids will play out what they see adults doing with babies. I don't think a breastfeeding doll is any less disturbing then a doll that pees it's pants.

In America, it's the land of the free. I strongly feel that this doll should not be banded. On the other end parents are free not to buy this doll, or free to buy it.

I really stand with George Stephanopoulos on this one. He has no problem with his kids playing with one of these dolls.

Good Morning America had a excerpt on this doll two days ago. They blocked out embedding the video, but you can watch it here; they have more you can read about here. They waited until now to feature this doll on their show because it's just starting to be sold in America. It's $89. Of course since it's a hot talked about item, they are racking up the price.

Do you think a breast-feeding doll that makes lifelike sounds goes too far?

A) Yes, it forces girls to grow up too quickly.
B) No, it teaches a positive message about nurturing and motherhood.

I picked B. What would you pick? I will in no way judge you for what you pick. I have some family members would would be dead set against this doll. On the other side, I have many family members that would be for it. Everyone has a right to an opinion.

Monday, March 28, 2011

I've always read to start babies on cereal anywhere from 4 to 6 months. I think the key thing is to watch for signs that they are ready. Don't rush it just because you are excited, or want them to sleep through the night. Sleeping through the night sometimes works when they get a tummy full, but not for every baby.

Young babies simply are not developed for solid eating yet. They can't hold their heads up and sit up well yet. It's best to look at your baby for signs that they may be ready. Starting too early can also set your child up for food allergies.

A few stores were going to start to sell an organic ice cream that is made from breastmilk, Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest. It's name? "Baby Gaga". The pre-thought of most people is, "Yuck"! But it is actually very healthy and yummy.

I have really bad tummy problems, and always wondered if cow's milk was totally eliminated from my diet, and replaced with soy or say breastmilk, how would my tummy do then?

I made what I called, "Boob Cube Ice Cream" for Mica and Isaak for their 1st birthday parties. I called it this because my breastmilk was frozen in ice cube trays. My little tikes were the only ones that consumed this ice cream. We joked about giving it to other people at the party. The joke was between my sister and I that were both nursing our little ones. I never thought at the time that breastmilk ice cream was something they'd actually start selling in the stores.

My sister and I had a lot of frozen milk left over, and we thought, "Why not make ice cream for our 1 year old's out of it?" It gave us a good laugh.

There was talk that ice cream parlors and grocery stores across the U.S. were going to begin selling ice cream made from breastmilk. It’s organic! The Baby Gaga ice cream flavor has been confiscated by the Westminster Council due to safety concerns of transmittable diseases, and is undergoing testing. It might be something that you see in the future.

Wal-Mart, Costco, and Kroger are all following the lead of Whole Foods, which is the first chain store to agree to offer ice cream made from the breast milk of nursing mothers.

Gather all of the needed ingredients. This is enough for one serving, but you may double or triple as you see fit, depending on how much breastmilk you have.

1/2 cup breast milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon sugar

4 cups crushed ice

4 tablespoons salt

1 standard sized coffee can

1 economy sized coffee can

Hand towel or gloves (to protect your fingers)

Step 2 Directions

Combine the breast milk, vanilla and sugar into the standard sized coffee can and mix thoroughly. Tightly seal the can with its plastic lid and place inside the larger sized coffee can. Fill that can with the crushed ice, then sprinkle the salt over on top.

Now, use your gloves or towel to protect your hands as you roll the can back and forth on the ground, until the ice cream sets. The time required depends on the number of servings in the can.

Tips

The salt causes the ice to melt slightly, lowering its freezing point. Water freezes at 32 degrees F. water with 10% salt freezes at 20 degrees F.

You can use plastic ziplock freezer bags instead of coffee cans. Just combine the breast milk, vanilla and sugar in a 1-quart freezer bag, then putting that bag inside another 1-quart freezer bag to protect it from the salt. Now, put those bags inside a 1-gallon freezer bag, pour the ice and salt in, and use gloves to mix it around until set.

About 8 minutes is needed to freeze one serving of the ice cream mixture.

The following video will show you the general process using the plastic bag method.

Mother's Day is coming up, and Basket o' Books has some great options for this special day! My sister's and I usually always take our mom out to lunch and shopping. If you're a new mom, a basket for yourself could be just what you need.

Basket o' Books gave me a Movie Night basket to review. I wanted something our whole family can enjoy. With my husband and I both working full time, we need as much family time as possible. Basket o' Books personalized our basket to fit our interests.

Our basket was loaded with goodies. They lasted well past one movie!

Candy, candy and more theater candy!

Plenty of popcorn and crackers! Our kids loved watching me pop the popcorn in the microwave!

The best surprise of all was the movie How to Train Your Dragon. It was a hit with the whole family! My son Mica now says it's his favorite movie.

Basket o' Books really gave us something we needed, time together as a family. They truly think out of the basket!

Basket o' Books has so many baskets to choose from. They are taking orders for Passover, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Graduations and Weddings, and they also serve the corporate arena with client appreciation gifts and thanks for referrals. Whenever one needs to celebrate or appreciate, they can help!

Basket o' Books is giving away to one lucky reader a $50 custom basket! This giveaway is open to US only and ends April 4 at 10 pm.

You can enter if you are not a blogger. Leave a separate entry for each. Make sure the first mandatory entry is filled out before all others.

For your first mandatory entry, check out Basket o' Books what custom basket you like best! Leave your email address with this entry. one entry

The other entries are optional. Be sure to leave a new comment for each.

Disclaimer: The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out. If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com

I think it's super important that if your baby or toddler is being given antibiotics to not start new foods during this time!

If they break out in hives, you, whom ever else might be watching your child and the doctor needs to know that they are having an allergic reaction to their meds, and it's not a food related allergy.

My Story:

I'm highly allergic to Sulfa. I was in high school when I had my allergic reaction. The hives started out looking just like pimples all over my face. By the end of the day I was covered with hives. I itched everywhere. The spots were hot. My mom told me to call the doctors office right away. Luckily I could communicate with them how I felt. They told me to take another antibiotic, and come in the morning if I was still feeling bad. I am so glad my mom knew better! She's a nurse. She was worried I'd get hives in my throat.

I went in the next morning. They had to give me a shot of steroids. I was laid up for two days. I was hot, feverish, swollen and shaking from the steroids.

Mica's Story:

My oldest son was on Penicillin. He was at home on Home IV antibiotics from his life threatening staph infection. I was scared enough to give him his IV antibiotics. Then all the sudden in the middle of the night, he broke out with hives all over! Tiny red dots on my then 7 month old. I stopped his dose right in the middle, called home health care. They called the Infectious Disease Doctor, which got a new prescription for something different. I was so glad I knew it was an antibiotic reaction. If I had started him on his 7 month meats, I wouldn't know what the rash would be from {meds or food?}.

Isaak's Story:

My youngest son was on Penicillin last week from his ear infection. He's almost 3, so he eats anything. He was done with his antibiotic at the tail end of last week. On Tuesday of this week he woke up with a few spots on his face. I didn't think too much of it because he's always had super sensitive skin. I didn't think the spots were from his meds at first. Mainly because he was done taking them.

On Wednesday he woke up with hot blotches all over his legs, lower tummy, and a few other places. I knew right away that they were hives, and suspected his Penicillin. The nurse thought that's what it was too. He went on Wal-dryl. I had to ask if it was ok for him to take it because it says for ages 4 and up on the bottle. They told us to give it to him every 6 hours. He was lucky, and his blotches went away in one day.

What to do if you suspect your child has had an allergic reaction:

Call your pediatrician's office right away!

If it happens in the middle of the night and your pediatrician's office doesn't answer phone calls you may need to take your child to the emergency room. If they have a fever, are super cranky I'd take my child in. If they seem to be acting fine and are not feverish then I'd stay up with them just to make sure they don't get worse.

I find that local pharmacists are a great resource. Some are open 24 hours a day.

If they have an older sibling then you should probably get them something. Will your baby know the difference? No. If it's your first child they don't need anything. I thought it was fun to get my first child a little something, so I did. Here are some idea's for your babies Easter basket.

What a Baby Easter Basket Can Include:

Get a basket that you can use in their room for decor, or practical use.

Include a baby book. If they are not into reading now, they will be soon enough. Try to go with soft baby books if they are really young.

Include a teether or baby toy.

Include a washcloth set or burp rags.

You could throw in a cute outfit, sleeper or bib.

You can include a bottle and/or pacifier. If they are old enough for a snack, throw one of those in. We put Bunny Crackers in plastic eggs when our son's were old enough to eat them. Cheerios work great for a first food. I made most of my baby food, so jars of baby food weren't really bought much.

Every year, over 800,000 children are killed by accidents. Millions more are injured. A childhood research studies stated that: Canada discovered that many of these accidents were caused by baby walkers. In 2004, they banned baby walkers in their country. Canadian citizens faced thousand dollar fines if they were even in possession of a baby walker. Restrictions have since been relaxed.

In the United States, over 150,000 infants were admitted to emergency rooms due solely to baby walker injuries in the decade from 1990 to 2000. This was due to baby walker injuries. Injuries were mainly caused by the baby falling down stairs while in the baby walker. The walkers were of such concern to the American Academy of Pediatrics that they called for a ban on baby walkers. The ban never did occur.

Instead they made walkers bases bigger. This way they are too big to fit through doorways. This reduced them flipping over and falling down steps.

Alternative:

If you are worried about getting a walker because your house is full of steps. The problem is an easy thing to solve, don't buy one.

There are many companies that sell Exersaucer's.

What's nice about the Evenflow brand is that it is collapsible. We used to take our's to Grandma and Grandpa's house. When Mica was in the hospital, having an Exersaucer was a great thing! He was hooked up to a lot of wires and tubes. A walker would have never worked.

I happened to get a Lambs and Ivy, Froggy Tales set when I was pregnant with my first almost 6 years ago. It was cute! I liked that it could be used for a boy or girl. I knew that if I had a girl, I'd add flowers to the room. My Mother-in-law worked at a baby store, so she got a great deal on the set!

Here's the kicker: I didn't use most of the stuff for what it was supposed to be used for. The quit was a wall hung piece over the changing table. Two sections of the bumper pad were taken apart, and also were wall hangings. The ties for the bumper pad were removed and sewn into each wall hangings, so that they could be hung by them. The room looked cute! I had no worries of my babies getting suffocated.

Health agencies and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) awareness groups are now recommending that parents skip the crib bumper and quilt, saying the need for crib bedding has passed and that using these products may actually put children at greater risk for suffocation or SIDS.

There are many companies that make sleep sacks. They can't suffocate in them, and your little baby is kept warm. The hospital where I had Mica gave a sleep sack away {I'm sure we were somehow billed for it}, but it's what we got. This is what was recommended to me when I had my boy's:

Bumper pads were once used because people thought they reduced the risk of SIDS. Crib slots used to be wider apart. There was a chance that babies body parts could get stuck between crib slots. The safety of cribs has really come a long way! The slots are now closer together.

Why are bumper pads and baby quilts still sold? I often ask myself the same question. I'm not sure why. People buy them because they are cute. They make the nursery a nursery.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

My kids were sick and we couldn't go see my cousin in the hospital when she had her son Alexander Reed McCann. Such a cute baby!!!!!! I love all the dark hair! My son's are now getting better. Although Mica still has nebulizer treatments. He's been on antibiotics for days.

This post is about being supportive to those that choose to breastfeed. I had a little of both in my family. My Mom, my younger sister and my husband were super supportive towards me when I started breastfeeding. Without them, it would have been harder to continue on.

Ways to Be Supportive:

Don't push the binki or bottle early on. The breastfeeding mom should have a well established latch before the binki or bottle is even thought of. The baby can get nipple confusion. The breast is much more difficult to latch to then a binki or bottle are. The infant will start to suck on the breast like a binki or bottle, which is an improper latch. The timing of introducing a binki or bottle can be different for each mom. It took me way longer then a lot of mom's, so I don't think that putting a number on the days for when a baby can take one is appropriate. When is a baby ready for a binki or bottle:

When the breastfeeding mom has no pain while nursing. If the mom is in pain, the baby is not latching right.

When the baby is growing properly.

Get the advice of the babies pediatrician. Some pediatrician's will advise a mom to give a baby a bottle as a limited supplement if the baby is not nursing properly.

Get the breastfeeding mom a Boppy or pillow. I'm not just talking about buying them one. Actually assist them in getting them positioned right for the baby.

Get the mom some water, or Mother's Milk Tea. This will replenish the mom's supply of fluids being sucked out of her.

Volunteer to watch the baby, so the mom can get some much needed sleep. The key thing is: Wake the mom up when it is time to nurse.

Give the mom a massage. Relaxation helps with nursing.

Cook the mom a meal. One of my favorite baby gifts was a home cooked meal!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Our boy's LOVE trains. We have Thomas, Team GeoTrax and one Little Engine That Could, which fits up with Thomas.

The past two Valentines day the boy's have gotten gift cards to Borders from Grandma and Grandpa Spiehs. Last year we got one version of The Little Engine That Could. This year before we even went to Borders Mica said, "Can we get the other version of The Little Engine That Could? I replied with, "We have that story already, lets look for something else this time.

He loves the story!

Fun Family Fritz is giving away 1 The Little Engine That Could hardcover book and theatriacal one-sheet poster! Both Mica and Isaak would be in heaven if we win!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Letting my kiddo's feel free to use their imagination's is so important to me as a parent!

One movie that I love is Up! If you haven't seen it, it's a must watch. I'm not promoting the movie in any way; I just like it.

A crew of people decided to make a 16'x16' house. It's not a full sized house, but it's still cool. They added 300 weather balloons filled with helium. It went up 10,000 feet and flew for around an hour. How cool is that? You can read the whole article here. These are some of the pictures that were used from this site.

My oldest son, Mica's favorite part of the movie is when the balloons lift up the house. He grabs his Little People play house, and acts it out. The only bad part is that it's not always smooth sailing. Our furniture gets banged up by his house. Luckily he's caused no damage.

My favorite part of Up! is when Mr. Fredrickson was young, and dressed like a pilot. The little girl is so spunky and he is very imaginative.

Cora Carolina has a doll that reminds me of Mr. Fredrickson, except with green eyes. I love their selection of dolls! I was a huge doll collector growing up. So full of imagination:

I was excited to hear on the news last week that Nebraska passed a law that supports women to breastfeed in public!

We were one of the only states left that did not support breastfeeding. It saddened me to hear some of the stories about new mom's getting kicked out of restaurants, asked to nurse in the bathroom of our local art museum, all because they were breastfeeding! I wanted to tell the local art museum to go eat their lunches in the bathroom.

This discrimination can still happen, but now with this new law in place, our state sides with the mother.

I was not one that could breastfeed in public, due to major issues with latching. Mica was born with a cyst under his tongue, making his tongue thick on one side, and skinny on the other. Isaak had troubles latching. Needless to say, I had to see what I was doing! Then when when we got the latch down, they were very active babies! They would have never left a blanket or cover over them.

My sister nursed in public, but no one could tell. Many people thought her baby was asleep. The cover up things they make for babies now a days are GREAT!

In my opinion women should have the right to nurse in public! You can read more about this new law here.

There is a survey that was done on a local news channel website.

Nebraska lawmakers advance bill allowing breast feeding in public. Do you have any concerns about the idea?

I had a yellow one that was satin on one side and soft on the other. My Grandma made it. I swear I can still feel it in my fingers. So soft and silky! I also sucked two of my middle fingers. I came out of my mom with callouses on my itty bitty fingers.

I think it's important that little ones have at least one thing to comfort them. Both of my boy's had blankies until they were about 1 or 1 1/2 years old. Isaak has dog stuffed animals and Mica has dino ones. Isaak's always been much more into that kind of thing then Mica. Kids are different in many ways, and the same in others.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

I decided to look up more information on Pre-eclampsia because I didn't know all the causes and risks involved. I think at one time I knew, and I've forgotten. I have a co-worker that had Pre-eclampsia for two of her pregnancies and a cousin that has it. My co-worker also had Hellp Syndrome with her last pregnany. Her first baby that was 4 pounds and her second baby was 2 pounds. Both of her daughters ended up ok, but this isn't always the case.

Although causes are not known for sure, there are possible causes, which include:

Genetic factors

Dietary factors

Blood vessel funtion

The immune system turns against the body

Risk factors {you do not have to have all of these to get Pre-eclampsia}:

Family history

Multiple births

Fist pregnancy

Inadequate prenatal care

Happened in a previous pregnancy

Obesity

Chronic high blood pressure

Kidney disease

Race: African American

Age: Under 18 years old or older than 40 years old

What can happen {scary part}:

Seizure

Stroke

Multiple organ failure

Death of the mother and/or baby

If you would like to learn more about Pre-eclampsia, this is the best website I found: Preeclampsia Foundation. They even have a spot where you can donate to help with research here. They also have a walk. You can find out more about the walk here.

Go Graham Go is hosting a giveaway where you can win a matching set of rain boots {mom and child} at Zoubaby. You can pick out the thread color, font and of course put in your initials. My initials are AAA, how crazy is that? I'm a triple A.

About Me

I have two full time jobs: Being a mom and teaching college level art. My husband is a sculptor, jewelry designer, dad and his day job is a dental tech. I have two son's: Mica almost 4, and Isaak almost 1. They are full of energy. I get into blogging about my kids almost daily. I love finding different baby/kid products and websites. Blogging giveaways are fun. My family and teaching keep me busy.

Disclaimer

The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.

I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

If you have any questions about this blog, or want to get in contact with me please email me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com